Digimon: Vanguards
by Sir Forte
Summary: A story following five tamers on their quest to discover the truth about the origins of the Digital World. On their journey, they must learn to work as a team or else face the destruction of both worlds.
1. Black Deal

Hey, thanks for taking the time to read my fanfic, Digimon: Vanguards. (Unless I told you to, in which case thanks for not telling the police about my threatening letters). Like most stories, it will start out slow. I simply ask you remain reading long enough to give it a chance. As the author, it is my responsibility to keep you engaged. However, I also believe that you, as the reader, hold a certain responsibility. Aside from the traditional *Please read and review* (which, of course, I hope you do), I believe you should remain respectful. Fanfics can be difficult. Good fanfics are extremely challenging. It's impossible to please everybody, but I'll try.

At the beginning of each chapter (except this one, of course) you'll find a recap of important preceding events. At the end, you'll find my notes, which mostly contain my decisions to incorporate certain elements and how I reached those decisions. I hope you enjoy them.

Additionally, most character observations, descriptions, and possible discontinuities are intentional. Everything should make sense in the end. However, feel free to point out anything that confuses you.

And finally, I don't own digimon. Obviously. I mean, if I did, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic. I'd be making this into a television series. Right? Of course.

So, let's begin.

* * *

**Black Deal**

Darkness. That is all the young boy could see. Panic-stricken, he desperately flung his arms out and began grasping at the empty void before him. He needed some way to anchor himself to reality. Any other object would make him feel less isolated, less alone. His attempts were in vain; all that ran through his fingers was the cold, empty air. Tears began streaming down his face as he fell to his knees and touched the ground.

He wished for his mother's hands to reach through the endless space, grip his arms, and raise him from this nightmare. The last he remembered, her warm hands gently touched his face and she kissed him goodnight. He still remembered her smile, even after she turned out the light and closed the door. He cried for her, but there was no response. Only the chilling air was there to greet him.

At first he thought this was simply a dream. He tried to force his eyes open, hoping that they were still shut. Yet, the black room remained. No amount of force or wishful thinking could shake him from despair. He shouted through his fits of crying, but only his echoes answered. However, now, something indescribable made this real. Some unknown presence resided with him. He was not alone.

"Aw, don't cry. I'm here to help you out, sport." These words rang through the boy's ears as he looked up. The darkness a few feet in front of him began to dissipate. In its place, a man began to materialize. Initially, the man looked normal; he was tall and slightly muscular with black gloves and boots. However, something was off. It was hard to tell through the tears, but the man's skin was too dark. The boy wiped his eyes and squinted. The man had red skin.

Sobbing, the boy cried "Wh-who are you?"

"Not important. What is important, however, is that I'm here to give you the deal of the century!" The man spoke with a somewhat excited tone, almost as if he were a father constantly praising his son.

"What...what do you mean?" The boy began to stop crying.

"I just want to make a trade. I'll give you whatever you want in exchange for just a little piece of you." As he spoke, the man got closer to the boy and pointed to his heart.

"A-anything?"

"Sure. Good deal. Take it while it's hot!" Now, the man was leaning over with his head at the boy's eye level.

"I want a million dollars!" The boy started to stand up and a smile began creeping across his face.

"Oh, you're a go-getter. I like that." The man raised his arm in the air, but the boy interrupted before he could snap his fingers.

"No. Wait! I want a digimon! That's way better than money!" The boy had forgotten the nightmare previously surrounding him. All he could think about was the thought of his very own digimon.

"Final answer? Yes? Great." The man snapped his fingers and he, the endless chasm, and the boy all vanished.

...

"Davids? ...Dawson? ...Enoch?" The mention of his name jerked Ryan out of his daydreaming state. Mrs. Hill handed him back his test and moved to the next student. At the top of the page, hastily scribbled in red ink, was "100%." _Yes_, he thought to himself. Ryan was pretty sure he had the highest grade in the class, but there was no sense in risking it. He studied for every test under the assumption it could potentially destroy his GPA. It was stressful, but the incredible grades outweighed the cost. Luckily, the tension for today was gone; the final bell rang and everyone began to board their bus.

Since he lived so far from the school, Ryan's stop was one of the last. A few before him, he watched as the twins, Will and James, ran toward their house. They were only a couple grades behind Ryan, but they acted like they were twelve. Their brother, Tim, walked to the house at a normal pace since he held the only key to gain entrance.

The rest of the way home, he rested his head against the window and thought about life. He was only 17 years old, but he really wanted change. The everyday task of going to school, returning home, and then studying until the next day had grown boring. He considered getting a job; however, he had no work experience and no diplomas. Blue collar work might hire him, but he was skinny (from being on the swim team) and only 5'9". He sighed as he looked at his reflection. Some guys had to push their hair out of the way to see their eyes, but he preferred to keep his hair short, especially since he enjoyed his blue eyes.

The bus came to a halt a few streets before Ryan's house. Puzzled, he walked to the front and boldly crossed the white "Do not cross" line. The driver turned to Ryan and said "Uh, sorry, but there's a detour. Do you mind walking to your house from here?"

"No. I understand. Thanks." Ryan did not know why he thanked him.

The quickest path to his house was directly through a neighborhood. He believed it was disrespectful to walk through people's yards, but he was in a hurry to get home and grab lunch. A few years ago he decided to stop eating school lunch. It was usually disgusting and he did not mind waiting until midafternoon to eat.

He lived in a small, suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Most of his classmates did; industrial workers were the main urban residents. Due to constant growth and expansion, wealthy citizens emigrated from the city, leaving only the poor. This resulted in a high crime rate in the city, which caused law-abiding citizens to leave as well, which further fueled the problem. Regrettably, most stores were located in the city. His parents forbade him from visiting these places without their supervision, which harmed his social life.

Halfway through someone's backyard, Ryan heard a low growling. He slowly turned around and quickly grew terrified. A pitbull, standing a few hundred feet behind him, had its teeth showing and fur raised. Saliva slowly dripped from its mouth as it inched closer and closer to him.

Ryan started to back up slowly, but fear overtook him and he began sprinting toward his house. Unfortunately, it was still hundreds of yards away and there was nowhere else to go. He knew that if he could outrun the dog in these first few, crucial moments, he would be fine. Humans are built for endurance and dogs are not. He would be fine if he could make it through a few yards. Each time his foot touched the ground he pushed off with all of his force. Suddenly, he noticed a swimming pool in the next yard. _If I can just make it there_...his hopes were shattered when he felt a searing pain and stumbled to the ground.

Time began to slow as he focused on his leg. It had large puncture wounds and was bleeding profusely. He wanted to grab it to stop the flow of blood, but the dog was standing on both his arms. There was nothing he could do as the dog lunged for his neck.

As if by miracle, another dog slammed headfirst into the pitbull and they both hit the ground. The new dog resembled a labrador retriever, except it had white fur with pink ears and a pink tail. It was difficult for him to watch the fight, but Ryan saw the labrador pin the pitbull's limbs to the ground and snap at its ears. The pitbull yelped in pain and frantically struggled to free his legs. The labrador ceased the attack and the putbill ran back to his doghouse.

A boy placed Ryan's arm over him neck and helped him stand to the ground. "Hey, you're bleeding pretty badly. Let me help you."

Ryan looked at the guy supporting him. He was slightly taller than Ryan and had short, black hair. He also had a bit more body mass, but Ryan attributed this to fat as opposed to muscle. His green eyes were staring at Ryan, waiting for a reply.

"Oh yeah...thanks. Sorry, I'm just a little shocked."

"I understand. By the way, I'm Collin." As he spoke, his dog returned to his side. It did not have any blood stains or patches of missing fur.

"I'm Ryan..." He started walking toward his house and Collin stayed by his side, supporting him.

"Where are you going? I should take you to the hospital."

"Nah, I think I'm okay. I should just stay off the leg for a while." Ryan knew he was lying, and he could tell that Collin did too, but neither of them wanted to push the issue.

"All right, if you're sure. I'll just take you back to your house. It's the least I could do." As the two spoke, Collin's dog trotted by his side.

"Thanks."

"So, what happened? Did you poke that dog or something?" Ryan could tell Collin was trying to make conversation.

"No. I was just cutting through that yard to get home faster. I guess it didn't like me. Truthfully, I'm not surprised. Pitbulls are known for attacking without provocation. Their advocates blame bad owners, but the common denominator is always the same: the dog."

"Really? That's interesting." Ryan could not tell if Collin was being sarcastic or if he was genuinely interested by the statement.

"Yup. Oh, is your dog okay? He looks well, but I just want to make sure." As he spoke, Ryan stopped and both boys bent down to allow him to pet Collin's dog. "Thanks buddy."

"Haha, he'll be fine. You should be more worried about the other dog." Collin started to scratch behind his dog's ear.

"Have you seen my leg? That thing won't be getting sympathy from me." The two stood back up and continued walking. Ryan could see his house in the distance.

"Fair enough." It was obvious that Collin had run out of things to discuss, but Ryan enjoyed the silence. However, there was something he could not understand. Collin risked both his own and his dog's lives to save Ryan, someone he had never met before. Ryan could not imagine himself doing the same thing. He had never been in any sort of fight and never wanted to be. He would never admit it, but he got frightened easily.

The trio was now at Ryan's doorstep. "Well...thanks. You really saved my life back there."

"It was no problem. If you need anything else, just give me a call." Collin wrote down his phone number before he and his dog left. Ryan shut the door behind them.

...

"Collin, why didn't you just let me blast that dog?" Collin turned to Labramon as his companion began talking.

"That kid almost had his neck torn out by a pitbull. You really think a dog shooting lasers from his mouth would have _helped_ the situation?"

In a sarcastic tone, Labramon replied "Well, you didn't let me, so I guess we'll never know."

"It's probably better this way."

"You don't know that."

Collin noticed a young girl looking through her window, staring at the talking dog, mouth wide open. "Shh, someone's staring," he whispered. Labramon obliged; he was used to hiding from humans.

Fortunately, they had now arrived at Collin's house, so the silence did not last long. The home was a normal, two-story suburban residence. Labramon rejoiced as he noticed there were no cars in the driveway; this meant he still had a few hours to freely talk to Collin. The two went upstairs to Collin's room. It was there, through his window, they saw the pitbull challenging Ryan only a few minutes ago.

Collin's parents brought Labramon home ten years ago. He was supposed to be a simple Christmas present, but they had no idea he was actually a digimon. Eventually, Collin and Labramon grew close enough to gain a trusting relationship, and that is when Labramon revealed himself. Still a young, imaginative child, Collin had no trouble accepting the truth. He had been following the Digimon television series during that time, which strengthened the idea. However, both knew that his parents would never understand, so they simply decided to keep it a secret. Strangely, neither of his parents noticed the dog remaining young and energetic, even after a decade.

Labramon jumped on Collin's bed and said "That kid looked about your age. Does he go to your school?"

"I think so. I'm pretty sure I've seen him walking in the hallway between classes. I'll ask if I see him again." As he spoke, Collin pulled various textbooks out of his backpack and placed them on his desk. Normally, he waited until his parents returned home to finish his homework, and instead played with Labramon for a few hours. Tonight, however, his father wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant to celebrate his recent promotion. Since there was an exam the next day, Collin wanted as much time to study as possible.

"Aw, man... You're gonna do work?" Labramon sighed upon realizing he would not get to play ball today.

"I have to; there's a big test tomorrow and I really want to get an A," Collin answered as he sat down.

Labramon put on his saddest face. "Pleeeeeease?"

"That hasn't worked in ten years. You think it will today?" Collin did not even bother to look at the puppy-dog face.

"Fine. I see how it is." Labramon jumped off the bed and started to head downstairs.

"Come on..." Collin hated when others were mad at him. He liked to be accepted by everyone and always tried to make friends over enemies. Labramon ignored him, and he continued, "Where are you going?"

"To pee on the carpet. If you won't play with me, I'm going to play with you."

Collin jumped out of his chair and ran after his friend.

...

Ryan sat down at his computer desk while looking through the window. He knew he should start his homework, but he used his injured leg as an excuse to procrastinate. To no one in particular, he said "Well, I guess today counts as change; just not what I had in mind."

Lately, the monotony of his daily life had grown boring, but he valued consistency too much to change it. He had very few reasons to keep attending school, the most obvious being his parents. They only had one child, and thus, made sure he remained the perfect son. They wanted him to become a lawyer or a doctor, which forced him to achieve extremely high grades. He constantly met their expectations, but they always asked for more.

Throughout his entire life, he had always wished for a brother. He wanted someone in whom he could confide, someone who understood him. When he was younger, he had asked his parents for a brother. They told him they were done with children since they already had the perfect son. He gave up pressing the issue, but the thought had always lingered. Recently, he had gotten into the habit of idolizing other students who had siblings, which caused small moments of depression.

He turned back to his computer and sighed, "Life sucks."

From behind him, a voice said "Sucks? Now you've got me. Your life is now officially awesome."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

This chapter was hard. Expositions are hard. The next chapter will be hard too, but things should get better afterward. Despite that, I think I did a pretty good job. However, ultimately, it's up to you, the reader, to tell me how I did.

The boy in the beginning is very important, and that whole scene played two very important roles. First, it created a reason to keep the audience engaged. It's a cheap trick, but oh well. Second, it is crucial to the story, which gives it justification.

Ryan made an observation on his neighborhood about crime. This is a reference to Social Disorganization Theory, and you can learn more about it from Wikipedia. I decided to mention this to give a prelude to future events, but it wasn't really necessary. In the end, I think I just wanted to throw in some neat trivia.

I should thank **ThatTwoGuy** for many things: inspiring me to write this, giving me the idea to add this "Author's notes" section, and possibly causing me to call the Real World the "Human World." I say possibly because it was in his fanfic before I started writing mine, but I may have thought of the idea independently. You should give his fanfic a read; it's great.

Again, thanks for reading.


	2. Full Circle

I'd just like to thank the people who reviewed the first chapter. David, I don't capitalize digimon because I consider them to be a species, much like humans, dogs, and cats. I'm disappointed you didn't like Ryan, but maybe he'll grow on you. And yes, Collin does need more development. JTX1000, thanks for your review. It provides enormous motivation to continue writing. For those of you who didn't submit a review, a simple "That was good!" or "That was the worst story I've ever read and I hope you burn in eternal damnation!" would work. Look, I already typed it all up for you; you just need to copy and paste. Please and thank you.

**Chapter One Recap: **

A young boy was met by a man with red skin and the two made a deal: a piece of the boy in exchange for his very own digimon. Later on, a 17 year-old named Ryan was attacked by a vicious pitbull, but a teenager named Collin and his Labramon saved him. In the end Ryan was met with a mysterious voice...

* * *

**Full Circle**

Wednesday, June 7th, 2084.

"Jake, honey? Can you run to the store and get some boxes for me? Your father and I need them to help pack for the trip." Jake's mother tossed him her keys as he headed for the door. He had always wanted his own car, but his parents said there was no need for it. Driving a vehicle in such a populated area was a hassle, and he could easily take a bus into the city.

"Sending me to buy things for a trip I can't go on. Gee, thanks," replied Jake as he walked out the door. He knew the "vacation" would be boring since it was work-related, but Jake still wanted to go to Florida, even if it meant only one day of free time. Both of his parents worked for an insurance agency and held respectably high management positions. As a result, they were constantly away on business trips to discuss various things that he never cared about.

Jake Ladon was 5'11", slightly taller than average. His eyes were green and he had messy, short-kept, dark brown hair. He had an athletic build from playing soccer and lacrosse (he was one of the best players on both teams) and did well in school; while he did not have the highest grades in class, he usually maintained around a 3.8 GPA each year. Not wanting to associate with so-called "nerds," Jake was not a part of the chess club, but he was unmatched in the game; everyone knew he could easily beat the team captain in only a few moves. He was quite popular in school, but some argued his natural ability for strategy is what granted him this fame since he had an unsympathetic attitude toward most people.

Jake's mother drove a 2084 Grand Charger, painted strawberry red. It was the newest model on the market and still had the new car smell. Ever since fuel manufacturers switched from gasoline to the hydrogen fuel cell, gas mileage rarely improved on newer models. Speed limits remained consistent as well, so horsepower did not matter; however, Jake's family had an obsession with new things, so his mother and father never bought used cars.

The distance to the city was short, but due to urban traffic, the trip was usually over an hour long. To add to the hassle, parking garages were scarce and Jake did not have a Meter Card, which allowed him to use parking meters indefinitely. He could use quarters, but he no idea where the store he needed was located or if it was busy. Instead, he found a parking garage and used the 3-D map to find a store nearby. Unfortunately, he had to cut through the city park, which would probably have dozens of mothers with their babies playing in the sandboxes. Jake did not understand the appeal of babies. To him, they were just loud, filthy, and greedy; none of which were desirable traits.

Surprisingly, the park was relatively empty, which was possibly due to the extremely hot weather. Summer was approaching and people preferred to stay home and swim in their pools. The government was apparently funding research to create a better way to control the weather, but these projects were still in development. Some small towns were placed inside domes; however, most cities were too large to fit inside these small-scale devices.

As Jake entered the store he noticed there were not many customers inside. Maybe the heat was strong enough to prevent people from leaving their houses. He did not mind; the less people out, the quicker he would get home. A short, bald man behind the counter asked, "Hi. Can I help you?"

Jake simply replied "I need a few boxes."

The man, trying to be friendly, said "All right. How many?"

"A few. Three," Jake responded with some annoyance in his voice.

"Oh, right. Sorry." The man quickly looked away as he rang up the boxes. "That'll be $29.95." After he paid and left the store, Jake remembered a story his grandparents had once told him. In their day, "boxes" were simple cubes (made from cardboard) that held various items. Fragile items had to be placed in many layers of protection. However, as technology evolved, special mechanisms were added that filled the box with a Newtonian fluid, which allowed small, precious items to be transported more safely. This breakthrough also meant the boxes would be heavier, and Jake knew he would have to help pack when he returned home.

Carrying the boxes across the busy intersection, especially in such blistering weather, was exhausting. Not aiding the situation, the aluminum coating heated up quickly. Jake crossed the streets in-between traffic, ignoring all hand signals. As he reentered the park, he noticed something strange: it was completely empty. Even the few daring mothers who had their children there earlier had disappeared.

He decided to cross through a wooded region in the park. Secluded from most of society, this area was prone to numerous crimes. Confident, Jake was certain he would be able to sufficiently defend himself if threatened. The shadows from the trees kept this path cooled, so he slowed his pace a bit to enjoy the scenery. There were dozens of flowers planted along the walkway. The city hired gardeners to keep this foliage maintained. They usually worked in the early morning, after most crimes had occurred and before many common folk were out.

Curiously, he noticed the shrubs rustling, but his hair was not moving; there was no breeze. _Probably just a squirrel_, he thought. However, he reconsidered when bushes on both sides of the path began to shake violently. Preparing for the worst, he set the flattened boxes down and quickly surveyed the area, looking for any help.

"Heh, look at this human. I think he's scared," mocked a voice.

Scanning his surroundings, Jake replied "Scared? You're the one hiding."

A different, but similar voice joined the conversation, "Oh, a tough guy. I guess we'll have to beat _that_ out of him."

Jake kept his calm and said, "We? You guys have to team up?"

The first voice answered him this time, "We don't _have_ to, but we're going to." At this point, both creatures jumped out of hiding. They were anthropomorphic rabbits.

Jake, equally shocked and amazed, stepped back. Standing before him, each on their hind legs, were two grey rabbits. Combining various feline aspects, both creatures had elongated claws and a long tail, on which were three black bands. Adding to their menacing appearance, these monsters had red eyes and vicious smiles.

He stood there, too confused to speak. The second creature laughed, "Ha. What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" His tone became serious as he continued, "Too bad I'm going to rip out a lot more."

Finally, Jake slowly responded with "What...are you?"

The first answered him this time, "We're Gazimon, the baddest digimon in the whole Digital World!" As he spoke, both monsters slowly advanced.

"Digimon? You mean, like the television show?" Jake watched as the second Gazimon slowly circled behind him, the first apparently providing a distraction.

"Television show? What? Just shut up while we lay a beat down on you!"

"I-what-You guys are delusional. Two rabbits aren't very intimidating."

"We are digimon! Not rabbits!"

Confident, Jake said "Oh, did I strike a nerve?"

"YAHHHH," the second Gazimon screeched as it lunged at Jake's back. He was prepared for this. In one smooth motion, he swung around, connected his fist to the Gazimon's face, and slammed it on the ground. However, his victory did not last long. The creature's companion jumped on Jake's back and embedded its claws in his shirt. He struggled to pull it off, but it clung on tightly. Two more Gazimon jumped out of the bushes and began clawing at his body while he wrestled with the one already attacking him. In the fray, one of them yelled "Paralyze Breath!" and Jake's body began to numb. He fell to his knees, and then on his chest.

"Hey, you leave him alone!" A girl came running over and kicked one of the Gazimon. She stood in front of Jake as the three remaining enemies approached her. "S-stop that," she quivered.

The girl would not be able to fend off the Gazimon for very long. She was only 5'6" and had a slender build. Fortunately, she delivered a powerful kick, which pointed to her being an athlete or cheerleader.

Menacingly, one of the Gazimon teased, "Make us!"

"Beat Knuckle!" A stout, purple dragon descended from the sky and punched one of the Gazimon in the head.

"Lunar Claw!" From seemingly nowhere, a small, white mammal dug its claws into another Gazimon.

Terrified, the remaining enemy tried to escape, but the girl grabbed its ears and pulled it to the ground. All of the fallen Gazimon slowly faded away.

The girl then ran over to Jake and turned him on his back. She had her dark brown hair (which matched her eyes) pulled into a bun. Jake figured she had been traveling and preferred to keep her hair out of her eyes.

As the two other creatures slowly approached, she cried, "Go away! Leave him alone!"

The white mammal, in a comforting voice, said "Don't worry. We're not here to hurt you."

The dragon added, "Yeah, if we were, we would have done that already."

"Monodramon, you're going to scare them!"

"I think the Gazimon already did a good job of that." The dinosaur sounded very sincere; everything he said was sober and serious, like a small child.

The mammal gave the dragon a stern look, "Just be quiet." Turning back to the girl and Jake, she continued, "I'm Lunamon, and this is Monodramon. We're digimon too, but we're on your side. Those Gazimon are bad news."

"Mo-mo...re...digi...mon?" Jake had slowly started to recover from the paralysis, but only his head was functioning. The girl supported it so he could look at his saviors.

Monodramon was a short, dragon-like digimon with purple skin. He had tiny wings attached to his forearms and was decorated in gold patches. He also had two red stripes down its chest.

Lunamon was short as well, but had no legs. In their place was what looked like the bottom of a gown, on which Lunamon shuffled. She had two large ears, each covered in blue stripes, and she had a yellow crescent moon on her forehead. Over her chest were draped two intersecting pink ribbons, in the center of which was a sleeping moon.

Lunamon answered Jake, "Yes. We are digimon too, and you are our partners!"

"Partners?" the girl asked.

"Yup. We're special digimon. We got to come to here, to the Human World, to seek out human partners!"

Jake had regained slight motion in his upper body. He propped himself up on his elbows and said "And we're your partners? How did you pick us?"

Monodramon ran over to Jake. "Actually, I just smelled the Gazimon and decided to find them. But when we saw them attacking you guys, we were certain you were our partners!" He stuck out his hand, "I'm Monodramon, nice to meet you!"

"Uhhh...I'm Jake...nice to meet you too...I guess." Jake tried to meet Monodramon's hand, but he had trouble. Monodramon grabbed it and placed it in his claws.

Lunamon ran over and threw her arms around the girl. "And I'm Lunamon! We're going to be best friends!"

The girl, debating whether to touch the creature, hesitantly said "I'm Penelope. Or Penny, for short." Finally, she patted Lunamon on the back.

As Jake started to move his legs, he asked, "You said you came to our world, the 'Human World,' right? Does the mean you're from a different world?"

Monodramon answered, "We come from the Digital World."

"Digimon have their own world, way up in space?"

Lunamon interjected, "No. Our world is...next to yours. I'm not even sure how it works."

"Then how did you get here? How are you getting back?" Penny still had trouble accepting this was all real.

"Back? We're not going back. We're a team now. You and me together forever!"

"That's...uh...I hardly know you."

"Which is why we should spend time together!" Lunamon sounded excited to have met Penny.

Jake, wobbling to stand up, said, "She's persistent." He then turned to Monodramon. "So, does that make us partners too?"

"Sure does." The dragon-like digimon then placed his hand on his stomach. "I'm hungry."

"You eat?"

"You don't?"

"I...just thought that...you didn't eat. I don't have any food."

"But I'm hungry."

"We can go back to my house and eat." Jake suddenly remembered, "Oh wait, my parents are there."

"You want me to eat your parents?"

"No! ...Okay, they should be leaving soon. Which reminds me: I need to get these boxes back home. You can come with me and hide until they leave."

"Yay! Let's go!" The naïve digimon began trotting off.

"Not so fast. I can't let you just waltz through the park. Here, put this on." Jake expanded one of the flatten boxes and put it on Monodramon.

"But I can't see."

"You'll be fine. I'll guide you."

"I don't think there's enough room for you in here too."

Jake, touching the back of the box to appear as if he were pushing it, walked back to his car.

...

As she watched the pair walk away, Penny commented, "That was kind of rude. He didn't even say thanks."

Oblivious, Lunamon said "Don't mind Monodramon. He can be a bit childish."

"I was talking about Jake. He's 17 and needs to work on his manners."

Curious, Lunamon asked "How do you know him?"

"He goes to my school. He's a grade behind me, though."

"Oh." The digimon thought for a moment. "Well let's not worry about those two anymore. I want to see your house!"

"Umm...ye-yeah, okay."

Lunamon could tell Penny was nervous as she spoke. "What's wrong? Why are you scared?"

"This is all so ridiculous. Digimon is just a t.v. show; they don't really exist. At least...they aren't _supposed_ to. Now, though..." Part of Penny wanted to reject this reality, but it had trouble doing so. Lunamon, Monodramon, and the recent battle with the Gazimon were all very real.

Lunamon's voice was kind as she spoke. "Penny, I know this can be hard to accept, but we're real. Digimon are real."

After a few minutes of contemplation, Penny made her decision. "All right. I trust you; you can come home with me. However, I'll have to hide you. Is that okay?"

"Yes! Of course!" Lunamon jumped into Penny's arms yelling, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Haha, not a problem. My car is at the edge of the park. Let's get home." Penny started carrying Lunamon out of the park, but stopped and looked down at the small digimon.

"What's wrong?"

"Jake had a point. I can't just carry you out into the open. People will freak."

"What people?"

"The people in the park. They're probably everywhere by now."

"There are no people around..." Lunamon curiously stated.

"What? How do you know that?" Penny was baffled.

"You'd hear them, silly." Lunamon then realized she and Penny had different ears, and started pulling on her partner's. "Look at those ears! They're so tiny!"

"Hey! Stop that! That hurts!" After Lunamon finally relinquished her grasp, Penny continued, "That's amazing. You can hear the whole park?"

"Yup. We're the only ones here. I guess the Gazimon scared them all away. So, can we go _now_?" Lunamon was eager to see Penny's house.

"Sure. Just keep your ears open."

Penny's car was parked at the edge of the park. Her job required her to deliver various packages throughout the city, and since parking was so treacherous, she owned a Meter Card. Today, she was assigned to bring an assortment of goods to a merchant store. The store was located on the opposite side of the park, which forced her to cross through it. That is when she heard Jake and the Gazimon.

As Penny placed her in the passenger seat, Lunamon said "You're all watery!"

"That's sweat. It's really hot outside."

"Look, I can cover myself in water too!"

Penny screamed "NO!" but it was too late.

"Tear Shot!" Lunamon shouted, and a large amount of water began to form between her antennae. Desperately, Penny cupped her hands and threw them under the water, but it fell through and covered the seat. She glared at Lunamon.

"Oh...was that bad? I'm sorry. I didn't know," Lunamon apologized.

"Just-...just don't move for the rest of the ride." Penny commanded. The drive home was silent.

As she pulled in the driveway, Penny noticed both of her parents' cars were absent. _Good. They're still at work._ Sneaking Lunamon in would be easy; keeping her hidden would be hard. Lunamon could not figure out how to open the car door, so Penny walked around and freed her. The seat made a "SQUISH" sound as Lunamon jumped out of the vehicle. She did not dare look her partner in the eye.

Penny started to ascend the stairs, but she turned around to see Lunamon looking perplexed. "What are these things? Why are we going up?"

"These are stairs. My room is up there." Penny was curious how digimon knew about certain things here, in the Human World, but were oblivious to others. Remembering that Lunamon did not have legs, she picked her up. "Here, I'll carry you."

Penny's room was painted light blue and had many novels scattered throughout. She was an avid reader despite being an athlete, which could also be assumed from her lack of trophies or medals. The books also served as entertainment; last year, after her grandfather had moved in with the family, she agreed to give him her television. Frames containing photos of her family and friends covered both of her desks, signaling a caring individual.

"My parents shouldn't be home for a while. I'm going to take a shower real quick."

Lunamon became excited. "You use water for that, right? Here, let me help! Tear Sh-"

"NO!" shouted Penny. She grabbed Lunamon's antennae, pushed them down, and sat on her head.

...

Labramon watched as Collin sat at the computer desk and started his research paper. In the top, right hand corner, he typed "Collin Set/Science/Black Holes/6-7-84." The assignment was not due until next week, but Collin never procrastinated; he was too punctual for that. Labramon had not met many other 18 year-olds, but Collin was the most responsible he knew. At times, this caused him stress; however, instead of whining, the teenager always searched for a solution. These traits carried over to interpersonal relationships too. Whenever his friends had trouble, he could easily identify the problem and help them work through it. Labramon admired his innate ability to read people.

"Collin, do you have to do that now? I want to go outside and play."

"No, I don't _have_ to do this now. I mean, I could just forget about it and take you outside. Heck, I could even decide to skip it completely. Who cares if my grade plummets and I potentially fail school? I don't need to go to college. I can just work at McDonald's for the rest of my adult life until one day I realize how sad and pathetic I truly am and then spiral into an endless state of depression finally ending with me putting a bullet through my skull. I mean, as long as you're happy, right?"

"Good, so you've got it all planned out. Let's go."

Understandably annoyed, Collin ignored Labramon. The two clashed constantly, but each knew he loved the other. They were best friends.

Labramon's ears stiffened as he heard commotion outside. "Hey! Stop typing for a second! Something's going on outside."

Sighing, Collin rose from his chair and glanced outside. He stared as he watched two young boys charge a small, green man holding a club. A third child lay on the ground, apparently unconscious. A few onlookers had gathered, but they were all too frightened to approach the man. "Who is that guy?" Collin asked.

"That's not a guy. That's Goblimon!" Labramon jumped off the bed and onto the windowsill.

"You mean, another digimon?"

"Yup. I guess I'm not the only one."

Collin had never considered that Labramon was not so unique. "Okay, well that doesn't matter. Those kids don't stand a chance. We have to help!" Collin started running downstairs as Labramon followed.

...

Normally, Ryan would have tried to escape. However, with his leg still badly injured, the most he could do was to throw his textbooks at the intruder behind him. He spun around and blindly flung _English: The Language Through the Ages_, but it hit the wall far above his attacker's head.

Terrified, he stared as a little white creature with wings flew toward him. It had two arms, two legs, a head, and a tail. Around each eye were three black patches, the only other color on its body. The top of its head formed into a small horn, which matched the rest of its skin.

The creature floated near Ryan's leg and said "Cure Light." As he spoke, a brilliant white glow formed around the injured limb and instantly healed it. Startled, Ryan stood up and backed away.

The intruder commented, "No need to thank me. I totally got that from the book-throwing."

All Ryan could manage was "Who...what are you?"

"I'm Cupimon, your new digimon partner!"

"Digimon? Partner?" A voice kept telling Ryan to run, but he had a strange feeling of trust in this creature.

"That's what I said. You should really consider yourself lucky. I mean, other kids might get Agumon or Gabumon, but you got me! Cupimon!"

"Agumon? Gabumon? Cupimon? Like...in the show?" Ryan stood still, beginning to grow fascinated.

"Yup. Well, except for me actually existing. That's important." Cupimon floated closer to his new friend.

"And...I'm your partner?" Ryan's curiosity had overtaken his fear.

"Sure are. Aren't you excited?"

"I don't think that's exactly the correct word, but sure. What else can you do?" As he asked, Ryan raised him arm, trying to touch the digimon.

"Right now...not much. But when I digivolve, I'm unstoppable!" Cupimon's voice became excited as he flew around Ryan's arms.

"So, you can digivolve too? That's why you need me?"

"That's not all. Human/digimon pairs share special bonds that help both members grow stronger."

Still amazed by Cupimon, Ryan mumbled "Hmm...so the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That's amazing."

"HONEY! ARE YOU HOME?" Ryan heard his mother's screeching voice throughout the house.

Alarmed, he grabbed Cupimon and yelled, "YEAH. I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN." He shoved the digimon in the closet and ran to the kitchen. "Hi, mom."

His mother was a tall lady who looked very similar to her son: blond hair, blue eyes, and a slender build. "I just wanted to check up on you. There's this crazy green man down the street with a club. A lot of kids were over there too."

"Oh, wow. Well I'm okay." Worried about Cupimon, Ryan dashed upstairs and opened the closet.

"What was that all about?" The digimon glided out of the closet and perched himself on Ryan's shoulder.

"Mom wanted to make sure I was okay. I think there's some crazy green man attacking kids with a club," Ryan repeated as he closed the door.

"That sounds like Goblimon. We should help those kids out." Cupimon flew over to the door, beckoning his partner to open it.

Not complying with the digimon's wishes, Ryan replied "That doesn't sound very safe. We should probably just stay here."

Defiantly, Cupimon said "You can do whatever you want. I'm gonna go find Goblimon."

"Then how are you going to get out of here?"

"I'll blast this door wide open!"

"I don't think you can do that."

"Wanna bet? I mean, at the very least, I'll make a lot of noise. I'm sure your mom would love that."

Beaten, Ryan opened the door. "Fine. Let's go out the back door; mom's still in the kitchen."

...

As Collin and Labramon neared Goblimon, they watched as he raised his club, ready to strike one of the children. The tamer shouted, "Quick, Labramon!"

A new feeling had come over the digimon. He grew fierce and focused; he was ready to fight. "Sonic Bark!" He threw open his mouth and an ear-splitting sound forced Goblimon to grab his head in pain.

Collin, still running toward Goblimon, praised his companion, "Good job!"

Goblimon, ignoring his previous victim, turned toward Labramon and threw his club. However, the agile digimon was too fast. He leaped over the club and continued darting toward his opponent. Goblimon planted his feet in the ground, anticipating Labramon's attack. Instead, the valiant digimon zipped to the side, circled Goblimon, and shouted "Canine Burst!" Collin, helping the injured children, watched as a small beam shot from Labramon's mouth and connected with Goblimon's head.

The evil digimon yelped and grabbed his head. He felt his singed hair and grew enraged. "My Mohawk! You ruined my beautiful Mohawk!" In a frenzy, he threw his arms out and punched Labramon, sending the digimon through the air.

"Labramon! No!" Collin ran over to his partner, but there was no response. Goblimon grinned and picked up his club.

"Cure Light!" A strong glow enveloped Labramon as Ryan and another digimon appeared.

Collin, shocked to see the duo, exclaimed, "Ryan! You have a digimon too?"

Labramon had stood back up. He answered before Ryan could, "That's Cupimon!"

"Great! Two digimon are better than one!" Collin turned back toward Goblimon and clenched his fist. "Let's take this guy out."

Cupimon flew toward the enemy and shouted "Angel Ring!" causing a circle of light to form around Goblimon, capturing him.

Ryan, proud of his partner, shouted "Yeah! You got him!"

Labramon, reenergized for battle, glanced at Collin and the two simultaneously shook their heads. "Canine Burst!" This time, the beam was much stronger and traveled completely through Goblimon. He slowly began to dissipate as he shouted in agony.

Collin looked at his three friends. "Nice job guys! We beat him!"

Before they could celebrate, however, Ryan interrupted, "Uhh, there are people all around. We need to hide the digimon."

Disappointed, Collin replied "That's true. My house is right over there. You guys can hide out there until everyone leaves."

"I don't know... My mom is going to notice if I'm gone."

Cupimon tugged at his partner's shirt, "Come on. She's making dinner. You'll be fine." He turned toward Labramon, "Beside, I want to talk to him more."

Ryan was still nervous, but he could not just stand in the street arguing. Finally, he decided to follow Collin and Labramon. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Jake punching the Gazimon was a reference to Data Squad. I hated the fact that Marcus could punch mega-level digimon without consequence. However, I couldn't make Jake completely useless, so I found a happy medium.**  
**

There is one main reason I chose a futuristic setting, which will be introduced later. You probably noticed that some elements feel advanced while others are modern. This idea came from a friend; he once told me that, while computers are developing rapidly now, this expansion will eventually halt. Once quantum computers are perfected (they use atoms to calculate equations), it will be hard to pass such a speed. Now, this doesn't necessarily extend to all items in the future, but I believe it's sufficient. Besides, it's not _that_ far in the future.

You'll note that I added a few attacks to the digimon. Basically, I felt they needed a wider arsenal to use. However, I will try to stick to a few main attacks for each digimon.

Also, when digimon shout their attacks, I try to avoid using all caps. This is very distracting and I think exclamation points make the same point.


	3. Herald

Hey everybody. Sorry about the delay; I was rewatching Frontier and am constantly tutoring my sister in statistics.

Once again, thanks for the reviews. Glad to know you guys are happy.

**Chapter Two Recap:**

Jake Ladon was attacked by a group of Gazimon while traveling through the city park. Fortunately, a girl named Penelope and two digimon (Monodramon and Lunamon) saved him. After the battle, the digimon revealed that the humans are their partners. Meanwhile, Ryan met his digimon, Cupimon and the two helped Collin and Labramon defeat Goblimon.

* * *

**Herald**

Wednesday, June 7th, 2084

During her shower, Penny reflected on the situation. Digimon, something she had known previously as only a television fantasy, truly existed. Yesterday, she would have easily denied such an absurdity; but now, nothing was clear. The battle with the Gazimon presented a very real threat. Her saviors, Monodramon and Lunamon, could be seen, heard, smelt, and touched. They even displayed emotions such as love, curiosity, and embarrassment. These kinds of creatures were not supposed to exist, and yet denying what she had experienced would be impossible.

But where did they come from? What was their purpose? How did they get here? Why did they want human partners? Penny was bombarded with questions and knew she had to ask Lunamon. Quickly, she stepped out of the shower, toweled off, threw on some clothes, and ran to her room. She found Lunamon sitting on her bed, looking through an assortment of novels Penny was reading.

Surprised, the girl asked "You know how to read?"

"Yes. All digimon do." Before Penny could reply, Lunamon placed her hand on her stomach and said "I'm hungry."

"Well, let's get you some food. Then you can tell me all about the Digital World. Deal?"

Excited, Lunamon jumped up and shouted "Yeah! Sure!"

The two walked into the kitchen and Penny helped Lunamon into a chair. She then went to the refrigerator and threw leftover spaghetti in the microwave. As it heated, she continued questioning Lunamon. "So, you said all digimon know how to read? When do they learn it?"

Lunamon looked confused. "Learn it? We don't learn it. We're just born with it."

"Wait. You don't have to learn how to read? Write? What about speaking?" Penny was amazed by this revelation.

Casually, Lunamon said "Nope. We're born knowing how to do all those things. I thought humans were too, but I guess not."

Penny was jealous. "Lucky. We have to go to school to learn that stuff."

"School? What is that?"

"That's how we learn things. There are these adults called teachers and they...well...teach us things: English, history, science, math. Everything, really."

"That's a lot. How do you find the time for all of it?"

"Uh, well, we spend a lot of time in school. Years and years and years."

Lunamon suddenly looked dismayed. "Oh yeah...they told us that humans get old," she said softly.

"You mean...you don't? Digimon don't age?"

"No. We look the same until we digivolve."

"Wow, that's amazing." The microwave started beeping and Penny retrieved the food. She set aside two plates and grabbed eating utensils for both of them. "Cheer up: food's done!"

Lunamon watched as her partner scooped their food out of the bowl and onto the plates. In the Digital World, plates were exotic and rare; most digimon ate with their hands. Penny placed a fork in front of her, but Lunamon just stared; her hands were not designed to hold a fork. Penny seemed to realize this because her face quickly grew red. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about that..."

Lunamon smiled, "It's okay." She looked down at her food for a moment, as if she were mentally preparing herself. Then, before Penny could stop her, the small digimon began shoveling handfuls of it into her mouth.

Penny, after watching her small friend's eating frenzy, picked up her fork and elegantly ate her meal, as if she were trying to show Lunamon the correct method. However, her companion was too focused on her food. After Penny finished chewing her first bite, she glanced over at Lunamon, whose plate was already empty. From the corner of her eye, she caught Lunamon eyeing her plate.

"Do you want mine too? I'm really not that hungry."

"Are-are you sure?" Penny could tell Lunamon was being gracious. The digimon still wanted more to eat.

"Yup. Go ahead." She slid her plate in front of Lunamon and smiled.

The digimon hastily devoured her second meal while Penny continued questioning her. "Earlier, you said 'they, told us humans get old.' Who are 'they'?"

Lunamon looked at Penny, bewildered. "I'm...not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I came here, I remember someone teaching us about the Human World, but I can't remember who. That's really strange. I'm sorry." Lunamon looked depressed as she apologized.

Penny comforted her, "Oh no, it's okay. I'm sure you'll remember eventually.

Still downhearted, Lunamon, said "It's just so weird. I can remember everything else perfectly..." After a moment of contemplation, she exclaimed, "Maybe Monodramon knows! He was there with me!"

Penny gathered the dirty dishes and replied, "Maybe, but I don't know where Jake lives. Besides, he was pretty rude; he probably doesn't want to talk to us." She walked over to the sink and turned on the water, but immediately shut it off. "Hey, what do you say we test out your water powers? Think you can rinse off this plate for me?"

Lunamon leaped out of her chair and ran to the sink. "Yes! It would be my pleasure!"

Penny kneeled down and held the plate in front of Lunamon. She turned her head away and shouted, "Okay, let it rip!"

Lunamon concentrated and cried, "Tear Shot!" Identical to the last experience, water formed between her antennae and a stream burst toward the plate, cleaning it. Penny laughed as she placed the dish in the dishwasher and grabbed another. Again, Lunamon focused, but this time she was interrupted by the doorbell.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be. Nobody ever visits us." Penny put the plate down and hid Lunamon in the pantry. "You stay here. I'll be right back." Fortunately, the kitchen was located in the rear of the house, so if Lunamon had trouble keeping quiet, it was unlikely the visitor would hear.

Penny unlocked the door and opened it. Standing at her doorstep, approximately four feet tall, was a man dressed completely in wizard garments. On top of his head was situated a blue mage's hat with a skull on the front, which covered the top portion of his face (although a few yellow strands of hair could be seen covering his eyes). He had a cape with an identical color to his hat, which blocked the bottom of his face; additionally, it had chains connecting the two ends of the cape with a skull in the center. He wore a yellow one-piece (with a few areas of red), that was covered in zippers; one of which was open, but led to a seemingly endless void of space. He wore brown boots and brown gloves and carried a staff with a sun.

In a gentle voice, the man said "Hello. I am Wizardmon, and I would like to speak with you, Penelope."

Surprisingly, Penny was not afraid. This digimon had a strange atmosphere around him; one that comforted her. "Sure. Please, come in."

He turned and surveyed the area before stepping inside. "Thank you."

"So, uhh...can I get you something to eat? Digimon seem to eat a lot."

"I hate to intrude, but yes. I may need my strength in the future. Also, would you mind grabbing Lunamon for me?" Wizardmon followed Penny to the kitchen as she freed Lunamon.

"All we have left are some pretzels. I hope that's okay," said Penny.

"That's fine. I'll take anything, really."

Lunamon was staring at Wizardmon. "I know you from somewhere..."

Wizardmon gave a warm smile. "Yes, you do. I am the one who brought you here, to the Human World."

Lunamon's blank stare melted away as her memory came flooding back. "That's right! You told us it was our mission to find human partners!"

Penny remained quiet, listening to Wizardmon intently as he spoke. "You are correct. I am truly excited that you found such a wonderful partner so quickly. I believe the two of you will make an excellent team. However, I fear the others were not so lucky. We must find Monodramon and Cupimon to be certain they have also found suitable tamers."

Lunamon was eager to reunite with her friends. "Yay! It'll be so fun to see them again."

Penny interjected, "Not to be Debbie-downer, but we were just talking about this. I don't know how to find Jake."

Wizardmon smiled wisely, "How do you think I found you? Now come quickly, we must go." He ate the entire bag of pretzels in one mouthful, and motioned for Penny and Lunamon to follow him.

Penny, unprepared for this expedition, checked the house to make sure it was secured, and then followed the two digimon outside. "Ummm...are you sure this is safe? People are going to stare..."

Wizardmon calmly said, "Don't worry. My magic will make Lunamon and I appear as normal humans to the public."

Penny locked the front door and turned to Wizardmon. "Wow, that's amazing."

"Thank you. Now, if you're ready, let's go. I believe Monodramon is closest."

Wizardmon began to step into the street, but Penny stopped him. "Wait. Would it be easier if we drove? I have a car."

"Actually, that is a good idea." Turning to Lunamon, Wizardmon said "You chose an excellent partner."

Lunamon blushed. "Aww, thanks."

Penny positioned Lunamon in the back seat and Wizardmon climbed in the passenger seat. Closing the driver's door, Penny said, "Okay, I'll drive slowly so you can direct me."

"Sounds like a plan." Wizardmon reached into one of his unzippered areas and pulled out a small, blinking device. Glancing at it, he requested, "Turn left out of the driveway..."

...

As Jake parked his mother's car in the garage, he informed Monodramon, "My parents are still home. I'll have to sneak you up to my room and you can stay there until they leave."

Monodramon, still under a box, yelled from the back of the car, "Okay! Let's go!"

Startled, Jake whispered back, "Do you not understand the definition of 'sneak?' Quit yelling!" He was then silent for a moment, listening to discover if his parents had heard the commotion. "Whew. I think we're in the clear."

Monodramon apologized quietly, "I'm sorry." He had lost his normal, excited tone.

Jake was still angry, but Monodramon's childlike nature made it hard to scold him. "Just don't let it happen again."

Monodramon, still hurt, remained quiet.

"My parents are probably in their room, packing. I'll just carry you upstairs. You'll have to stay in the box though, just in case." As he spoke, Jake heaved the box out of the car, grunting. Monodramon weighed more than he had originally thought. "Oof. What have you been eating?"

"...nothing. I swear."

Ignoring the comment, Jake slowly carried Monodramon into the house. "Okay, no talking. We're about to go inside."

During his ride, Monodramon stared up intently at Jake; however, he was too busy watching for his parents to notice.

"Jake, honey, is that you? Do you have the boxes?" From the sound of her voice, Jake could tell his mother was in her bedroom.

He shouted back, "Yeah! I'll bring them to you in a second!" He then muttered to himself, "Good. They're in their room," and continued his mission.

Carrying the box upstairs was difficult, but manageable. Once in his room, Jake removed the box from Monodramon. "All right. I'm going to give this to my parents. You stay here until I finish. Understand?"

Timidly, Monodramon replied, "Yes."

In an effort to leave the digimon alone for as little time as possible, Jake sprinted back downstairs and returned to the garage. He recovered the remaining flattened boxes and brought them to his parents. "Here you go. Sorry about that. I had to use the bathroom real quick," he explained as his father took the opened box.

"Uhh...son... Why are there teeth marks in this one?" Horrified, Jake examined Monodramon's box. On the interior were tiny bite marks, as if someone (or something) had been chewing on it.

"I...uhh...got hungry?" Jake had no idea what to say.

Luckily, his mother interrupted, "It doesn't matter. It's almost time to leave. Here, help us finish packing."

Jake knew that leaving Monodramon alone for any longer would be disastrous. "I can't. I really have to use the bathroom."

His father grew suspicious. "Again? I thought you just went."

"Yeah, well I ate Mexican food. You know..." Before they could stop him, Jake ran back to his room.

"Mexican food and he was still hungry enough to eat the box? Sheesh."

...

After his parents had left, Jake brought Monodramon to the kitchen to feed him. "So, what exactly do you eat?"

"Usually I just find some berries in the forest. They're really good."

"Berries? We don't have any berries."

Aghast, Monodramon cried, "What kind of world is this?"

"...I meant here, in the house. I'm just going to reheat some pizza. You'll like that."

"Okay, if you say so. I trust you."

Jake was surprised at his partner. He had never heard anyone say that to him before, and he did not have a proper response. "Uhh...yeah."

He threw the pizza in the microwave for a minute, during which time he remained silent. Monodramon continued staring at him, smiling. Jake felt strange. The two friends had only met hours ago, but this digimon genuinely trusted him, similar to a relationship between brothers. He wondered if all digimon behaved this way, or perhaps Monodramon was unique.

The microwave's buzzing disrupted his thoughts. He set the pizza on a plate and handed it to his partner.

Monodramon looked confused. "You're not going to have some?"

"No. I'm not hungry. I ate before I left earlier today."

"Okay!" The digimon shoved the entire slice into his mouth, consuming it instantly.

Watching Monodramon eat, Jake asked, "So...umm...how come you chose me? You know, as your partner."

"I'm not sure. When I saw you, I just had some weird feeling, like we were supposed to be a team."

"Huh. Weird."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Before Jake could respond, Monodramon shouted, "Lunamon!" and darted to the door.

"Hey! Come back here!" Jake chased him after him and opened the door.

The girl from earlier, Penny, and her digimon, Lunamon, were standing with a third creature, who said, "Hello Jake. My name is Wizardmon, and I'm sure you remember Penny and Lunamon."

The trio stepped inside and Jake closed the door behind them. Monodramon wrapped his arms around Lunamon in delight. "Lunamon! You're back!"

Gasping for air, Lunamon managed to squeeze out "Yes... now please...get off."

While the two digimon talked, Wizardmon addressed Jake, "I am sorry to be so pressing, but there is not much time."

Jake, still baffled, asked "What are you talking about?"

"There is still one digimon left. We need to find Cupimon and his tamer, which will complete the team of four."

Again, Jake repeated "What are you talking about? Four what?"

Wizardmon spoke with haste, "Penny, will you stay here with Jake? It would not be wise to traverse the city with such a large group of digimon, even with my magic."

Penny barely knew Jake, but she wanted to please Wizardmon. "Yeah, sure. As long as that's okay with him."

Monodramon, answering for Jake, exclaimed, "That's great! Lunamon can meet Jake! This is going to be so much fun!"

Then, before Jake could voice any objections, Wizardmon began to leave. "Excellent. You two remain here. I shouldn't be gone for very long," he said prior to closing the door behind him.

After Wizardmon's departure, Jake turned to Penny. "Can you tell me what's going on here?"

"I don't really know. From what he told me, Wizardmon sent the digimon here, to our world, to find human partners. I'm not sure why, but he seems worried."

"He just let them roam free? That sounds really dumb."

Defensively, Penny replied "Well, maybe it wasn't his fault."

Lunamon, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected. "Penny's right. Wizardmon told us to stay with him, but Cupimon and Monodramon were too excited. They just ran off. I figured Cupimon could take care of himself, so I chased after Monodramon."

Jake glared at Monodramon, who gave a weak chuckle. "I'm not surprised." With more questions, he turned back to Penny. "So why did they come here in the first place?"

"I'm not sure. Wizardmon didn't really tell me much. He's pretty mysterious."

"How so?"

"I don't know. A bunch of stuff. Like, he had some strange blinking device that directed us to your house."

"I guess that's how he's going to get find Cupimon too." Thinking for a moment, he continued, "So he's gathering us. Why? Are we some sort of team?"

"I think so. Apparently there are four of us."

"Four?" Counting on his fingers, Jake listed, "Monodramon, Lunamon, Cupimon, ...and who else?"

"Wizardmon maybe? I honestly don't know much."

"Wait. Maybe this is like that show on t.v."

"I-I guess. That sounds really ridiculous though."

Raising his eyebrows at her doubt, Jake said "Honestly? I mean, look," he gestured toward their digimon. "If they exist, I wouldn't doubt that we're 'digidestined' or whatever it's called."

"Yeah, that's true. I just wish Wizardmon were here so he could answer these questions." Addressing Lunamon, she commented, "It's a shame you can't recall anything else."

In response, Lunamon asked Monodramon, "Can you remember why they sent us here? Earlier, I couldn't even remember who Wizardmon was, but then he appeared and my memory came back."

Monodramon squinted his eyes, thinking hard, but nothing happened. "No, sorry." Not terribly worried about his selective amnesia, the digimon tugged on Jake's sleeve. "Hey, I'm hungry again."

"You just ate like...ten minutes ago. You can't possibly be hungry again."

"But it feels like it's been forever. Pleeeease?"

Lunamon looked at Penny. "I'm hungry too."

Jake was distraught. "If you guys eat like this all the time, there's no way you can stay here. We don't have enough food."

Monodramon put on his saddest face possible. "But Jake, I'm reeeeaaallly hungry."

"Fine." He walked over to the freezer and peered inside. "We have some frozen waffles. That's what you guys are eating."

Before he could put their meal in the microwave, there was a loud uproar above. Everyone jolted their heads upward, watching the ceiling, waiting for more noises. After a few minutes, Jake, feeling a sense of responsibility, stood up and said "Well, whatever's up there is isn't going to go away if we ignore it." Signaling Monodramon and Lunamon, he continued, "You two can fight. Let's go."

Penny followed the group. She was not afraid of being isolated, but instead wanted to keep Lunamon protected. "Just be careful!"

The journey to the second floor was tense. The group tried to stay silent, but the creaky floorboards would not permit it. After stepping on a few of them, Jake gave up on his stealthy approach. "Guys, whoever it is probably knows we're here. Let's just charge him."

Following his advice, Monodramon rushed into Jake's room. The other three entered behind him, scanning the area, but found nothing. Suddenly, the door slammed shot and everyone turned, facing it.

A blue digimon stood there, blocking the only entrance. It was slightly shorter than Penny and had a devious grin on its face. Supporting its body were a number of twisting strands, which combined at its neck, under a pointed yellow collar. The creature had two elongated arms with fingers, but its hands were almost as large as its head. Below its antennae were two black circles, which were likely the digimon's eyes.

Before anyone could react, the creature smirked and screeched "Bug Blaster!" A red sphere formed in its mouth and flew toward Jake. Monodramon jumped in the way and threw his arms up, but he was still thrown backwards and slammed into the wall. Jake ran over to help Monodramon while Lunamon stood in front of the blue digimon.

"Penny, that's a Keramon!" They're only rookies, but they're really dangerous!"

Penny, who was also helping Monodramon, replied, "Be careful!"

Keramon opened his mouth again. "Bug Blaster!"

In retaliation, Lunamon concentrated and shouted "Tear Shot!"

The blue and red orbs collided and instantly bounded off at angled directions. Debris from the damaged roof rained down, giving Jake the cover he needed to grab his backpack. "Penny, get ready! I'm going to distract him. As soon as you get the chance, open the door and get them out of here!"

"You want to fight that thing alone? That's crazy!"

"Stop arguing and just do it!"

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"Bug...Blaster!" Another red globe flew at Jake, but Lunamon's tear shot reflected it again.

Monodramon lunged at Keramon and tackled him. "Run guys!"

Penny grabbed Lunamon and followed Jake into the hall. Once at the top of the stairwell, they turned to watch Monodramon wrestle Keramon through the doorway. Monodramon pinned his enemy's arms to the ground, but Keramon used his multiple legs to wrap around Monodramon and squeezed his abdomen. Monodramon grunted in pain, causing Jake to run back into the room and start kicking Keramon in the head. Distracted, Keramon relinquished his grasp on Monodramon, giving the digimon the strength to yell "Beat Knuckle!" and strike Keramon in the face.

"Yeah, you got him!" yelled Lunamon. As Keramon rose back to his feet, she added, "Uh...never mind. You guys better get over here."

As Jake ran to Lunamon, he created a plan. "Lunamon, if Penny holds you on her shoulders, do you think you can keep stopping Keramon's attacks?"

"I can try!"

"Good. We need to draw him downstairs, where we have more options. Let's go!"

Penny hoisted Lunamon over her back and the three dashed down the stairs. Keramon tried shooting them, but Lunamon's tear shots constantly disrupted him. Cleverly, Keramon leaped over the balcony and intercepted Penny.

Jake commanded, "Monodramon, quickly!"

The digimon yelled "Shadow Wing!" A dark aura formed around him and he sped toward Keramon with his wing exposed. As if it were a blade, the wing sliced through Keramon's skin. He yelped as he grabbed his throbbing wound.

"You got him!" cheered Penny, but her joy was short-lived.

Keramon threw opened his mouth again, and the lights in the house dimmed as the red sphere slowly formed.

Suddenly, someone shouted "Thunder Ball!" Electricity engulfed Keramon as he writhed in pain. Like the Gazimon previously, he slowly dissipated.

Standing behind where the evil digimon evaporated was Wizardmon, who apologized "I knew I shouldn't have left you two here. It wasn't safe. I just didn't think they would find you so quickly."

Furiously, Jake argued, "You think? We could have been killed!"

Wizardmon remained calm. "I am truly sorry."

"Sorry? Tell that to my parents!"

"Please, let me help with this mess." Focusing on his staff, Wizardmon bellowed, "Return!" Stunningly, the entire house healed itself.

Penny, staring, commented "Wow, that's amazing."

Wizardmon smiled. "Thank you. Now please, we must return to the others."

Jake was still upset. "You expect me to follow you? Last time I listened to you, I almost died!"

"I understand your confusion. However, you must come with me. The longer we wait, the more chances they have to attack. I know of a safe place."

Monodramon was delighted. "Jake, come on! Let's go! We'll be fine."

It was Penny's turn to speak. "Well, we can't do any worse with him than by ourselves. He just saved us, after all."

Debating, Jake remained quiet. Penny had a point. The four of them combined could not defeat Keramon, but Wizardmon did it with one blast. "Fine. I'll go."

Wizardmon held his staff high. It began to flash brilliantly as the room twisted and darkened. Soon, only the sun atop the staff could be seen, which acted as a beacon in the otherwise black room. Jake and Penny felt a yanking motion; then everything became numb.

...

"Penny, get up!" Lunamon pulled on her partner's arm, trying to rouse her out of sleep.

Eventually, Penny opened her eyes and saw the digimon standing over her. "Ugh...I have such a headache... What happened?"

"Wizardmon brought us here, to his hideout."

Standing up, Penny looked around. She was standing in the vacated parking lot to an old warehouse. A few yards away, she noticed Jake and Monodramon talking to Wizardmon. She walked over and overheard Jake ask "You could teleport this entire time? Then how come it took you so long to find everyone?"

Wizardmon, striding toward the building, replied "It is not easy. Other travelers add to the strain, and in the human world, I constantly need energy."

Sighing, Jake said "Of course. Why would it be easy? That would just be...too easy."

Disregarding the complaint, Wizardmon opened the door to the warehouse. "We need to get inside. If Keramon was able to find you so easily, others may also."

As they entered, Wizardmon flipped a switchbreaker. Large, hanging lights littering the ceiling became illuminated. Still dazed, Penny's eyes had trouble adjusting. However, she could make out three humans standing across the room, two of which had digimon companions.

Beginning the introductions, Wizardmon said, "Finally, the team is together. Please, introduce yourselves."

Bravely, one of the humans stepped forward and said "Uh...hi... I'm Collin. Nice to meet you..." he trailed off, waiting for someone to respond.

Penny completed his sentence. "...Penelope. But you can just call me Penny. Oh, and this is Lunamon!" she said as she pointed toward her partner.

A small, floating digimon interrupted "Lunamon! Monodramon! I was wondering where you two had run off to! I bet you missed me." Then, flying near his partner, he said "Oh, and this is Ryan. He's kind of shy."

Collin's digimon smirked. "I had no idea!"

"Labramon! Be quiet!"

Jake decided it was his turn to introduce himself. "I'm-"

"Jake! Jake Ladon!" Ryan exclaimed. "You're in my history class."

"Really? You're...uhhh...Enoch, right?"

"Yup." He quickly grew shy again. "Oh. Sorry for interrupting you..."

Annoyed, Jake dismissed him. "Whatever." Then he stared at the fifth person. "And who are you?"

Nervously, the boy replied, "My name's Timothy," then, quoting Penny, he continued, "but you can just call me Tim."

Wizardmon stood proudly at Tim's side. "This is my partner."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter took a while to write. I think I may have skimped on the details at the end, but all of the relevant points were covered. Also, I finally am done with the exposition! Yes!

To add to Wizardmon's teleportation: he can only teleport to areas he has seen before. That's why he had to find Jake and Penny on foot.

Not really important, but an interesting fact, Penny fainted from her lack of food. The trip was rough and she hadn't had any lunch.

Hmm...I can't really think of anything else to add here. I will complain, however, that I had trouble writing the dialogue for this chapter. I think it moved too quickly. That may be justified, since Wizardmon is in such a hurry, but whatever.

Anyway, see you next time.


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